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“It’s clear that we face common challenges.  It’s also clear that by working together, we get more than just a solution to a problem: we get solidarity.”  The Greenhorns presents Cooperative Farming, an in-depth resource for forming collaborative businesses.  Compiled from a 42 interviews with collaborating farmers and allies, this is a how-to handbook on structuring and […]

For making mid-morning tea out in the field!  Also known as a Storm Kettle, and offered by Lehman's and by KellyKettle.com (UK) The hollow kettle, made of double skinned aluminum, surrounds the fire you build in the base. The water absorbs the fire's heat in an amazingly efficient manner. Add fuel (paper, leaves, sticks, wood) […]

If you have a tough time wrapping your head around Farm Bill legislation, check this out for a quick summary of what just got signed into law. http://www.youngfarmers.org/2014-farm-bill-passes-final-hurdle-signed-into-law/

Los Angeles, CA: Mar. 16 – 18, 2014 Davis, CA: Apr. 27-29, 2014 Practical training for the entrepreneurs and organizations building the New Food Economy.   Walk away from Hub Camp with a 6-month action plan to hit the ground running! An action-oriented approach to learning, launching and adapting as you grow your local food […]

We highly encourage you, our blog readers, to join our e newsletter so that you hear about upcoming events, projects and much more! There are nice announcements of many kinds, and it goes out once per month.  Sign Up Here! View the latest online HERE  and below. FINAL REMINDER - ALMANAC The New Farmers Almanac […]

CADE, the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship is a non-profit organization established in 1991 with a mission to increase the number and diversity of successful farm enterprises and related businesses in New York. CADE connects producers of farm products to markets by providing professional, individualized and confidential business and marketing consulting to agricultural entrepreneurs. […]

Open Shops, 2013 Farm Hack stats, upcoming events and much more!  Check out the latest newsletter HERE And stay in the loop by visiting the Farm Hack website often! [vimeo http://vimeo.com/73504647]

Training The Scottish Crofting Federation offers a number of training opportunities, supported with funding from the Scottish Government's Skills Development Scheme and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Training is available for aspiring, new and existing crofters and open to anyone with an interest in learning more about rural skills and crofting. The training courses are aimed […]

we continue to work on datasets,  but one important point: now you can become a " network member", and add your own dots! thank you to pete, ines, hallie and the whole team Check it out!

 Commons Sense [pdf]: Co-operative place making and the capturing of land value for 21st century Garden Cities.  This report, published by Co-operatives UK describes the huge potential of community land trusts and other forms of mutual housing and enterprise In this time of growing austerity, revisiting pioneering ideas from the past on how land is owned and shared can be a […]

A wealth of information here about the Gullah/Geechee & their Foodways, including a wonderful post on the "Rural Woman"

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/21811545] The Sustainable Agriculture Tool Lending Library came to be through George O'Neal of Lil' Farm and his girlfriend Kelly Owensby: realizing how difficult it was for George, as a young farmer, to rent or buy equipment for his farm in Timberlake, they came up with the plan to become a cooperative with ten […]

we highly recommend a few online archives of useful content https://openlibrary.org/ to find any book at a public  library near you www.archive.org to find online books, movies, music.. and a copy of the internet from any period in time www.freemusicarchive.org a non corporate version of grooveshark/pandora that lets you experiment with new music that others have posted FOR […]

http://onpasture.com/  

http://preview.grazeful-living.com/   * CSA directory   * Market vendor directory   * Market product availability   * Farm Facebook integration Available now is Facebook integration with many of the markets when you click a map marker, a local events listing based (mostly) around an interest in farmers' markets and suggested sites.  The events and sites […]

At Bob-White Systems in South Royalton, VT, we aim to provide small farmers with access to affordable and appropriately scaled equipment  (something that is hard to find outside the industrial large dairy model) in addition to other services, such as start-up consultations and milk testing. We would love to see more young farmers out there starting small dairies. Having […]

this one in berlin http://contemporaryfoodlab.com/

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vVR5Pdufqs] A series of six videos about farming grains and healthy soils: http://www.youtube.com/user/BluebirdGrainFarms/videos

Amazing! http://ca.statewater.org/ The California Water Atlas, a book published in 1979, continues to inspire map-makers and water lovers alike. We are making a new version of this Atlas for our generation as a public work for Californians using dynamic maps, open data and lots of citizen involvement. Learn more

or orphaned animals-- on your land. Is to call the wildlife rehabilitation professionals. DO NOT FEED wild animals, this will cause them to be shot dead as they will now seek food from humans for the rest of their lives.

Making a profit off of real estate investment is no new thing, even when it comes to farmland. Land grabs make the land valuable without valuing the land. There are some investment groups, though, that aim to invest in land sustainably. One such group is The Entrepreneur Agrarian Fund (EAF), a private equity fund establishing a […]

what if western states were defined by watersheds? http://communitybuilders.net/the-united-watershed-states-of-america/ The story begins with John Wesley Powell, the great one-armed adventurer and geologist. He was made famous for his successful runs through the Colorado River in 1869 and 1872. But perhaps his most important legacy rests in a lesser-known deed: Proposing in 1879 that as the […]

First, Ethan shares over 1,000 enterprise budgets!  Read his piece, "The Power of Enterprise Budgets: Permaculture, Holistic Management, and Financial Planning". At the end, he's got this treasure trove: "In order to support the ongoing development of ecological agriculture, I’m making available to you all the all the enterprise budgets I have collected in the last 2 […]

Deadline, December 15th Allegheny Mountain School Fellowships for 2014 Allegheny Mountain School is seeking nine inspiring individuals to participate in the fourth cohort of our 18 month fully-funded fellowship program.   Applications are available on our website,www.alleghenymountainschool.org.  The deadline to submit your application is December 15, 2013.  Interviews begin January, 2014.

Resource Highlight: Fare Grange We know farming is a special type of business. Farmers require attorneys with expertise that fits their particular operation, especially when they are producing  sustainable, organic, local, or non-GMO food. Fare Grange Law has that expertise. Investing in legal counsel before a problem occurs is the most cost-effective use of our legal services. We know, […]

In order to then join your voice to the choir of opposition. I suggest reading here. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=12806#rule2

Here is a wonderful source of information to keep you up at night. http://fairewinds.org/

Rural Punk Magazine Call Out For Submissions Hey You! Rural Punk! We are creating a magazine just for us, the rural punks, back to the land skids, backwoods anarchists, etc! The Country Grind is a smokin’ new quarterly magazine specifically for those folks who have ran away from the cities in search of a simpler, saner, […]

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is a 2011 BBC documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. The series argues that computers have failed to liberate humanity and instead have "distorted and simplified our view of the world around us". The title is taken from the 1967 poem of the same name by Richard Brautigan. The first of three episodes aired in May 2011 on BBC2. […]

Finger Lakes LandLink Farmers in the Finger Lakes region who need access to land, and landowners who wish to have their unused acreage farmed, now can be matched through Finger Lakes LandLink, a new project developed by Cornell Cooperative Extension South Central NY Agriculture Program and the Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming in […]

The conference is coming right up!  November 20! And they are offering discounted registration to beginning farmers. Interested farmers can contact the office directly at (518) 581-0078, [email protected]. Register Now! Are you a beginning farmer looking for a place where you can grow your farm business?  You’re not alone – there are many farmers facing […]

Farm Hack by Courtney White, originally published by The carbon pilgrim  | NOV 1, 2013 Welcome to the virtual coffee shop for agrarians! Pull up a laptop and join the conversation. Do you have a farming issue on your mind, or maybe a tool design that you’d like to share, a crop problem that needs to be solved, […]

The American List There are a lot of brands listed and we have not vetted this list, but it's a start! American-made workwear brands, that we know of, include Round House, Pointer Brand and Red Ants Pants. Have anything to add?  email us: [email protected]

Farm Hack South Dakota Friday, November 1 11 am to 4 pm Collaborative workshop with a tour of Cycle Farm, presentations by local farmers, break-out groups & a roundtable discussion, or “hack” to come up with creative solutions to human powered tools to support beginning farmers and ranchers.Open to Public. Great for tinkerers, hackers, makers, engineers, designers, […]

Notes from the field…Dearest Young Agrarian, We’ve got lots of exciting updates heading into the fall and winter season. From a newly updated website, release of our Land Linking Guide and a series of events across the province, there is much to see, do and share! If you haven’t already please join us across the […]

[vimeo=https://vimeo.com/76105043] Sign up here.

Whole Farm Planning for Women Beginning Farmers For women with two to 10 years in farm business management. Where: Lamoille County, VT Dates: Jan. 7, 21, Feb. 4, 18, March 11, 25, April 8, 22, May 6, 20, 2014. (snow date March 18) Time: 9:30 am-4 pm Application Deadline: Nov. 15, 2013 Fees: $150-$500 Online […]

The wonderful folks at Law for Food have got a blog going with all sorts of resources and ideas. It's a wonderful place to start dabbling in research for your own farm business, now that the season has slowed. Here's an entry on organizing as an LLC.   

Hacking the Fields: Crowdsourcing DIY Tools for Sustainable Farming In the brave new world of farm technology, communities are inventing new tools and cutting out Big Ag. For some farmers, the fate of a tractor or combine can make or break an operation. But with their high price tag and narrow application, these massive tools […]

A well-worn favorite on our bookshelf, Keeping A Family Cow, is out again in a revised and updated edition!  Joann S. Grohman wrote the book back in the early 1970s, but it is just as relevant to greenhorns of today.   Check it out at Chelsea Green. The cow is the most productive, efficient creature […]